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Article: Undesirable sex partners; bacteria manipulate reproduction of insects and other species. (Wolbacteria cause cytoplasmic incompatibility in arthropods)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- November 16, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It took a while before the medical community paid attention. The first known cases of what the tabloids gleefully called virgin births appeared, amusingly enough, in Las Vegas. Then physicians across the United States began documenting similar events. In each case, an unfertilized egg in a woman had spontaneously begun to develop, ultimately producing a healthy female baby. One young researcher, who had analyzed the timing and locales of the virgin births, suggested a spreading infection might be causing the incidents. The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta quickly dismissed the idea, calling it "ridiculous." Several months later came a ...